Faora
Faora-Ul is an infamous Kryptonian war criminal and Sub-Commander of the Sword of Rao, serving as second-in-command to her superior officer, General Zod, and was one of the first great enemies of the hero Superman. Biography Life on Krypton Faora was born on the distant planet Krypton, genetically engineered into the Kryptonian Warrior Guild as a warrior and leader. She was a fiercely dedicated soldier under General Zod’s command and alongside him conspired a coup d’état on the planet Krypton, supplanting the ruling Law Council. They attempted to overthrow the Council and start anew by extinguishing the “unworthy” lineages that had led Krypton and its people to the edge of annihilation. They attacked the Legislation Chamber where scientist Jor-El was in council with them informing them Krypton was lost and that they had to abandon their planet. Faora threw council members on the floor on Zod’s orders. As Zod had Jor-El arrested, Faora and Zod's other men executed the Law Council. Jor-El escaped however and stole the codex and returned to his home. Faora helped Zod chase Jor-El to his homestead in pursuit. When there Zod engaged Jor-El in hand to hand combat, Zod killed Jor-El as his wife Lara Lor-Van launched the codex off inside their son’s ship. Loyalist forces arrived and arrested Zod, Faora and the rest of his men. Escape She searched for the codex, before being captured. The attempt was ultimately in vain and she and her fellow conspirators were placed in the Phantom Zone for their offences. As a result, when Krypton exploded they escaped death and eventually made their way to the planet Earth in search of Jor-El’s son who possessed the codex. There they devised a plan on terraforming the entire planet into a new environment suitable to sustain a new generation of Kryptonians. Faora was returned to the Phantom Zone when the phantom drive from Kal-El's ship was used to against Black Zero's sucking all into a singularity. They were put on trial in the Legislation Chamber and were sentenced to 300 years of reconditioning in the Phantom Zone. They boarded the Black Zero ship and travelled through the Phantom Zone Projector to their fate. Krypton exploded however and the ripple effect broke Black Zero free. Faora, horrified that her world had blown up followed her General's plans to find survivors and a new planet to rebuild Krypton. After Kal-El, now grown up, activated a thousands year old Scout Ship it sent a signal throughout space which Black Zero picked up. Knowing they had located Kal-El and the growth codex, they set course for Earth. After Zod sent a message across Earth requesting Kal-El be handed over, Zod sent Faora in a dropship to pick him up and also the human Lois Lane. Faora fitted Lois with one of their visors so that she would be able to breathe onboard Black Zero. The atmosphere aboard their ship disrupted Kal's powers and he was strapped down and both were subjected to mental torture and probing trying to find the codex. Lois had without knowing brought aboard Jor-El's AI hologram which helped Lois escape and change the atmosphere aboard the ship. Battle of Smallville General Zod had rounded up his troops and went to Earth. Landing at the Kent's Farm and confronting Martha Kent, Faora picked up her off the ground using her new powers wanting the codex after not finding it on Kal-El's ship. Faora threw her down to find Kal's ship hidden beneath the barn as Kal-El returned and tackled her General away. Faora and Nam-Ek went off in pursuit and confronted Kal-El in Smallville. .]] The two quickly outmatched Kal-El with their numbers and pummeled him into the ground and through shop windows. As the military intervened and Nam-Ek dealt with them, Faora tackled Kal-El herself proving her vast fighting experience by beating him at the start, though he eventually overpowers her and Nam-Ek due to his superior solar-energy supply. When a missile hit her, it broke Faora's visor and she and Nam-Ek retreated after being picked up in a Dropship. Battle of Metropolis General Zod recovered aboard his ship and commanded them to release the World Engine and send the Black Zero to Metropolis where its initiates the gravity beam as Zod goes to retrieve the Scout Ship, which signal brought them to Earth. Faora commands the troops and soon Zod returns with the ship as does Kal-El after destroying the Terraforming Generator. Earth military forces begin to attack Black Zero to which Faora begins to deal with them. Aboard a C-17 piloted by Hardy, they have Kal-El's ship and after throwing Lois out of the plane and killing 2 military personnel, Hardy flies the plane directly at Black Zero. Before Faora can get to Hardy the plane has hit and the Phantom Drive from Kal-El's ship against Black Zero's creates a Phantom energy singularity that begins to suck everything in it's path (including Faora and her men) inwards, back into the Phantom Zone. Personality Genetically engineered to born into the Kryptonian Warrior Guild as a warrior and leader, Faora was a fierce and ruthless psychopathic warrior (more so than even General Zod himself), driven by the need and sadistic pleasure of killing, genetically incapable of feeling empathy toward her enemies . She even promised Superman that for every life he managed to save from the Sword of Rao, that she would see to it that they would kill "a million more." As a result, she was known and feared throughout Krypton as the infamous “Tigress of Zod .” Ironically, while sadistic, she shows little to no emotion when in combat or killing humans, though this is most likely because Faora is unimpressed by the relative weakness of humans, and finds killing them to be far too easy to be considered a feat worthy of savoring. Faora is also somewhat vain, as she is quick to mock the naturally born Kryptonian Superman for his lack of combat skill and sense of morality, since she believes the latter trait in particular makes him weak and unconfident, giving her an "evolutionary advantage" over him. However, despite her malevolence, ruthlessness and utter disregard for weaker races (such as humans), Faora, much like Zod, had a great patriotic love for her native planet of Krypton, and uncharacteristically shed tears after witnessing its destruction. Powers and Abilities Powers *'Kryptonian Physiology:' As a Kryptonian, Faora's alien body adapted to Earth's atmosphere and gravity and absorbed the yellow radiation emitted by the Sun, which granted her superhuman powers. However, she notably never did manage to master the powers of heat vision and flight. **'Solar Battery': Faora's Kryptonian cells absorb only yellow solar energy and this in turn fuels all of her powers and abilities. Her cells also store solar energy as well, allowing her to retain her powers under roofed structures or even at night, although she eventually needs a yellow sun to recharge her powers. ***'Super Strength:' As a Kryptonian, Faora has a tremendous level of superhuman strength, virtually incalculable, as she is able to carry more than 1 million tons. She can generate large shock-waves with her mighty punches, she can effortlessly hurl cars and trucks great distances, shatter concrete, break through thick metal walls and doors with ease, and fight evenly against fellow Kryptonian Superman. In fact, Faora was able to hurl him all the way to the other side of Smallville, while her mighty blows were powerful enough to send him flying and visibly hurt him, making him stagger and pant in pain. She was also able to grasp Superman by the neck hard enough to make the latter wince in pain. Together with Nam-Ek, Faora was also able to force Superman back down when the latter tried to fly up into the air. ****'Super Leaps:' Faora is able to use her incredible strength to perform super jumps, shown when she leaped into the Kents' barn, and when she almost leaped onto a flying military jet (only to be stopped by Superman just in time). ***'Super Speed:' Faora can run and react at incredible speeds, allowing her to overpower numerous soldiers within seconds, without them being able to even react. Her speed seems to extend to her reflexes as well, since Faora manages to dodge a tackle from the equally fast Superman, and when he first attempted to engage her, Faora caught and deflected all of his blows with ease. The only known being capable of moving slightly faster than Faora is the Scarlet Speedster Flash. ***'Invulnerability:' Faora's body is incredible durable, virtually indestructible. Hence, she can withstand massive explosions, falls from great heights, high-caliber bullets, anti-tank depleted uranium rounds, plasma bolts from Kryptonian weaponry, Superman's heat vision attack (though it caused her burning pain) and even numerous mighty blows from fellow Kryptonian Superman, remaining unscathed. While Faora can be affected by the considerable force of powerful impacts, they only at most cause her to stumble and briefly knock her down, leaving her unscathed. The only things capable of actually breaking through Faora's invulnerability and harming her are Aquaman's TridentZack Snyder Defends Aquaman’s Honor, Wonder Woman's Sword, and beings of comparable incalculable strength (such as other Kryptonians and the monster Doomsday), as they are strong enough to physically break though her invulnerability without the need of Kryptonite. ****'Healing Factor': In rare instances when she is hurt, Faora is capable of healing at superhuman speeds, especially in direct sunlight. However, if the injuries are serious enough to instantly kill her, her healing factor will not be able to save her. ***'X-Ray Vision': When her visor first broke open, Faora was initially overwhelmed by the sudden intensity of her x-ray vision (which enabled her to see through all objects and people), and was unable to control it. Lead appears to be the only substance that Faora's Kryptonian x-ray vision cannot penetrate. ***'Super Hearing': When her visor first broke open, Faora was initially overwhelmed by the sudden intensity of her hearing (which enabled her to simultaneously perceive numerous feeble and far noises very clearly, including both infrasound and ulrasound), and was unable to control it. ***'Longevity': Kryptonians under a yellow sun have a lifespan far greater than that of humans. They don't show signs of age as long as the sun is there to empower them. Faora is unaffected by earthly diseases and draws energy from the sun to live, meaning that had Faora stayed on Earth, she would have effectively been an ageless immortal. Abilities *'Expert Combatant': as an illustrious member of the Kryptonian Warrior Guild, Faora is a fierce and ruthless combatant, being extremely skilled in a vast array of Kryptonian martial arts, more so than even General Zod. Hence, she was known and feared throughout Krypton as the infamous "Tigress of Zod" Faora easily gained the upper hand against Superman in a duel, and he was only able to defeat her by managing to break open her visor (and that only by catching her off-guard). Faora might also have some skill in wielding bladed weaponry, since she was about to attack Colonel Nathan Hardy with a Kryptonian combat knife. Hence, even without her powers, Faora is lethally dangerous. *'Expert Leader': Faora, as the Sub-Commander of the Sword of Rao and General Zod's second-in-command, was a highly skilled leader, to the point that Zod always trusted her to take his place of leadership when he was forced to attend to other business, such as when she held off the Sapphire Guards' attacks (while he engaged Jor-El) and when she protected the Black Zero (while he searched for the Fortress of Solitude). Weaknesses *'Kryptonite:' This radioactive green mineral from Krypton is Faora's the greatest weakness, as it is extremely deadly to her. *'Red Sun Radiation/Kryptonian Environments: '''A red sun robs Faora of the powers that she gained under a yellow sun. Because of this, a Kryptonian environment filled with red sun radiation and greater gravity (such as the interior of the Black Zero) will render her to human levels. *'Sensory Overload: As Faora and her fellow Kryptonians have superhuman senses, their brains can be overwhelmed by the information it takes in. Though they could learn to hone their senses in time, an attack on their sight and/or hearing can briefly stun and greatly weaken them, to the point that a direct hit from a missile was enough to knock a weakened Faora unconscious. *'''Beings of Equal Power: Beings of comparable incalculable superhuman might, such as other Kryptonians or the monster Doomsday, can generate enough force that can knock out, injure and even kill Faora, breaking through her invulnerability without the need of Kryptonite, much like how Superman was able to kill General Zod by breaking the latter's otherwise invulnerable neck. Relationships Allies *Sword of Rao **General Zod - leader † **Tor-An **Nam-Ek **Jax-Ur **Car-Vex Enemies *Superman - Archnemesis *Jor-El † *Kryptonian Law Council **High Eminence Lor-Em † - prisoner turned jailer **Ro-Zar † *Kryptonian Warrior Guild - allies and subordinates turned enemies. **Sapphire Guards *People of Earth **Lois Lane - former prisoner **Nathan Hardy - attempted victim † **Martha Kent - interrogatee and intended victim **Emil Hamilton † **General Swanwick Trivia *Faora is the first fellow living Kryptonian that Superman meet. Behind the Scenes *Diane Kruger, Rosamund Pike, Alice Eve and Lindsay Lohan were considered for the role of Faora before Antje Traue was cast. *Gal Gadot, who would later portray Wonder Woman, was offered the role of a villain in Man of Steel, presumed to be Faora, but turned it down due to pregnancy at the time.[http://batman-news.com/2015/09/17/gal-gadot-man-of-steel-faora/ Gal Gadot is Wonder Woman because she turned down a major ‘Man of Steel’ role - Batman-News] External links * Faora at the Superman Wiki. References Category:Man of Steel Characters Category:Deceased Characters Category:Kryptonians Category:Villains